A type of cognitive behavioural therapy available online (known as Sleepio) intended to restore healthy sleep patterns in people with insomnia, has been tested to see if it could also relieve a range of mental health issues, including negative thoughts, anxiety, depression and psychosis.

Researchers asked nearly 1900 students who have difficulty sleeping to try using Sleepio, and nearly 1870 others to try following standard advice for insomnia. Both groups filled in questionnaires beforehand that assessed their sleep patterns, as well as tendencies to experience paranoia and hallucinations. They repeated these questionnaires at three, ten and 22 weeks into the experiment. Overall, those using Sleepio slept 50 per cent better than the control group. Compared to this group, the Sleepio users also had a 30 per cent reduction in hallucinations, 25 per cent reduction in paranoia, and their anxiety and depression levels were 20 per cent lower.